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A few weeks after Samsung's latest Wear OS-powered devices and just a few days ahead of Apple's most extensive family of smartwatches yet, the affordable Garmin Venu Sq 2 and Venu Sq 2 - Music Edition have gone official... and up for grabs in the US.
Priced at $249.99 and $299.99 respectively, the two all-new but decidedly familiar-looking intelligent timepieces offering both Android and iOS compatibility are clearly meant to compete against the cheapest Galaxy Watch 5 variants and the upcoming Apple Watch SE 2.
Garmin Venu Sq 2
GPS Smartwatch, 40mm, Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Case, Various Colors
Believe it or not, the Venu Sq 2 promises to keep the lights on for up to 11 days (!!!) on a single charge despite tipping the scales at only 38 grams. To put those numbers in perspective, a 40mm non-Pro Galaxy Watch 5 weighs an admittedly more impressive 29 grams or so... while barely committing to get you "through a busy day" before you need to refuel.
Then there's the first-gen Apple Watch SE, which also starts at around 30 grams and can also only deliver "all-day" (in the singular) battery life, and perhaps most insanely of all, Garmin's own OG Venu Sq, capable of running for up to 6 days between charges with more or less the same dimensions and weight as this second-gen model.
Make that models (in the plural), as the Garmin Venu Sq 2 offers quite a few interesting color combinations at the reasonable aforementioned prices, ranging from the classic slate-and-gray or slate-and-black to some decidedly fashionable cream gold/white, cream gold/French gray, and peach gold/ivory flavors and a downright funky metallic mint/cool mint version.
It's certainly nice to see Garmin add a touch of style and a splash of color to an otherwise... unremarkable-looking smartwatch settling for "cheap" (read lightweight and durable) silicone bands across the board and a love-it-or-hate-it square-shaped "fiber-reinforced polymer case" with an extra-robust (and again lightweight) anodized aluminum bezel.
More than just a battery life champion
This bad boy is definitely not going to win any (traditional) beauty contests, but of course, beauty often comes from within... or from an almost surprisingly sharp (for $250 and up) AMOLED touchscreen with a resolution of 320 x 360 pixels and a generous 1.41-inch diagonal.
Naturally, the only notable difference between the "standard" and Music editions of the Venu Sq 2 is the latter's on-device tunes storage ability for phone-free listening. Everything else is exactly the same on both devices, from phone-free GPS functionality to 24/7 heart rate monitoring, in-depth sleep tracking, Body Battery energy supervision, stress tracking, women's health tracking, and blood oxygen saturation tracking.
Simply put, the Garmin Venu Sq 2 can track a lot of stuff for a whole lot of time, so if you don't mind its design and somewhat poorer selection of apps compared to Apple or Samsung watches, it's sure going to be hard to keep your 250 bucks unspent starting today.
By the way, the apps inconvenience clearly does not apply to general fitness enthusiasts, casual runners, swimmers, bikers, golfers, or tennis players, who can all rely on a dedicated little program monitoring their every move right from the smartwatch's initial setup process.
Oh, and the Venu Sq 2 is (of course) swim-proof as well. And it also comes with native support for contactless wrist payments. And "smart notifications." And a bunch of preloaded workouts. And a whopping 1,600+ different exercises allowing you to create your own custom workout. And a neat little feature called Health Snapshot that gathers together all of the most important metrics and stats to provide an overview of your wellness. Okay, we'll stop now and let you think how you could possibly do better than all that at just $250.
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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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